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Alhambra Creek Restoration Project
Organization: Urban Creeks Council
2001 Grant Recipient - Contra Costa County
Purpose
This grant was designed to create a restoration plan for a site on Alhambra Creek that would be used by a group of neighbors to address creek bank stabilization issues on their adjoining properties. It was expected that this plan could serve as a model for future restoration efforts along Alhambra Creek.
The Plan included narrative and maps that displayed soil bioengineering methods for creek bank stabilization. Central to the plan was the use of a live crib wall, which involves the use of log timbers constructed in a box frame, planted with riparian plants and back filled with soil.
NRPI Database Entry:
http://www.ice.ucdavis.edu/nrpi/NRPIDescription.asp?ProjectPK=339
Steve Donnelly and Mike Vukman were the original Directors on this project.
Documents
- Bank stabilization conceptual design for Alhambra Creek @ Brown Street, Martinez, California / Prepared by Urban Creeks Council, August 2001. (6 pp.)
- Oakland starts $850,000 creek revamp: Polluted section of Peralta Creek in Cesar Chavez Park to get new plants, bridge and pathway this summer / Laura Casey, Oakland Tribune, May 30, 2003. (2 pp.)
- Water warriors: United Creeks Council quietly fights to bring streams to light / Katherine Redding, San Francisco Chronicle, April 4, 2003.
- Current projects of the Urban Creeks Council
Contacts for the Project
Phil Stevens
Executive Director
Urban Creeks Council
Phone: 510.356.0591 Ext. 2
Email: Phil@UrbanCreeks.org
Kristen Van Dam
Restoration Coordinator
Urban Creeks Council
Phone: 510.356.0591 Ext. 3
Email: Kristen@UrbanCreeks.org
Quick Links
Project Photos
Alhambra Creek in Contra Costa County originates in the hills of Briones Regional Park, which drains into the Carquinez Strait by way of the historical Arroyo del Hambre. Alhambra Creek and its valley take their name from Cañada del Hambre, Spanish for "valley of hunger," apparently because of some unknown incident involving starving Spanish soldiers.
Beaver Yearling on Alhambra Creek, downtown Martinez. Photo by Cheryl Reynolds. Photo courtesy of Worth a Dam 2008.
Bank Stabilization: Re-vegetating with appropriate native riparian plantings is one common Soil Bioengineering technique used by Urban Creeks Council. For example, planting willow or cottonwood cuttings will serve to reestablish native riparian plant communities as well as to stabilize the creek bank.
Bank Stabilization: Photograph of an installed live crib wall from another Urban Creeks Council restoration site.
Bank Stabilization: A diagram of a live crib wall similar to the one that was designed for Alhambra Creek to stabilize the creek bank.
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